Thursday, 9 January 2014

An Important New Study of Sir Hamilton Harty by Jeremy Dibble

I
still find it incredible that my late father met Sir Hamilton Harty. It was after
we had been listening to the composer’s Piano Concerto on the radiogram that he
casually mentioned the story. One afternoon (c.1932) he had come home from
school (in Audenshaw) and had been shown into the ‘parlour’ and introduced to Harty
who had been visiting my grandfather ‘on business.’ Unfortunately, at about 11
years old my father did not grasp what this ‘business’ was. My grandfather was a
part-time stage manager at a Manchester theatre, and was also a point of
contact for organising Cheshire and East Lancs performances of Messiah, so I can only assume that this may
have had something to do with amateur musical life in the area. It is a story I
have long conjured with. Other visitors to the house apparently included Gracie
Fields, George Formby and Arthur Askey.

For
most music-lovers Hamilton Harty is probably just a name – if that. For
habitués of the Hallé he will be recalled as having re-established this
orchestra as one of the finest in Europe. For enthusiasts of British music he
may be remembered for his romantic Piano Concerto or his heart-achingly
beautiful tone poem With the Wild Geese.
Many will know the ‘The Fair Day’ from his symphony without being aware of who
composed it.

Jeremy
Dibble has made a major contribution to British musical scholarship. Major
studies include the critical biographies of Hubert Parry, Charles Villiers
Stanford, John Stainer and most recently the ‘honorary Irish’ composer and
pianist Michele Esposito. Amongst his other achievements are editions of music
by Parry and Stanford. He is the author of many articles and CD liner
notes. Jeremy Dibble is currently
Professor of Music at Durham University.

This
impressive biographical study of Hamilton Harty and his achievement is a timely
re-discovery of one of the most important and charismatic figures in British
music. It is the first major biography of this composer/conductor to be
published.

It
will come as little surprise that the literature directly concerning Harty is
sparse. Until the present book, the only major study was Hamilton Harty:
his Life and Music (Blackstaff Press, Belfast, 1978)
edited by David Greer. This consists of a number of essays examining different
facets of Harty’s career as composer and conductor. The same author has also
issued a short book containing his Early
Memories. Much important information concerning Harty is found in Michael
Kennedy’s The Hallé Tradition (Manchester
University Press, 1960). Grove’s Dictionary has been down-sizing the length of
the dictionary article since the 1950s. The present entry runs to a mere 500
words: there is no list of works.

Investigating
the literature further, discloses many short articles and essays hidden in back-numbers
of various music journals and newspapers. The Hallé archive in Manchester
contains the administrative records and a complete run of programmes for the
Harty years. The main autograph collection of the composer’s manuscripts is
held at Queen’s University, Belfast.

For
the general listener the most immediate source of information is contained in
the liner-notes for the largely Chandos-oriented corpus of music that was
recorded some 30 years ago with the Ulster Orchestra under Bryden Thomson.
These were written by David Greer and provide considerable insight into the man
and his music. Finally there is an excellent and highly detailed discography of
Hamilton Harty’s own recordings compiled by John Hunt -More Musical Knights.
Discographies of Hamilton Harty, Charles Mackerras, Simon Rattle & John
Pritchard.

The Arkiv CD catalogue currently (December 2013) references
some 25 discs featuring Harty’s music. The most popular works are his
arrangement of the ‘Londonderry Air' and the tone-poem In Ireland. With the exception the Symphony, most other compositions
that have been recorded are represented by single releases. There are also a
baker’s dozen of discs featuring historical performances with Harty as
conductor.

It
will be helpful to give a thumbnail sketch of the composer to remind readers of
his place in British music. Herbert Hamilton Harty was an Ulsterman born in
Hillsborough, County Down on 4 December 1879. At the age of 12 he was appointed organist at
Magheracoll Church in County Antrim, He had further organ appointments in
Belfast and Dublin and subsequently studied informally with the Italian émigré
Michele Esposito at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. In 1900 Harty came to
London where he soon gained a reputation as an accompanist and began to be
considered a composer. He directed operas at Covent Garden and orchestral
concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra. In 1904 Harty married the soprano
Agnes Nicholls.

During
the Great War, Harty conducted the Hallé Orchestra at the Free Trade Hall: in 1920
he accepted the appointment of Principal Conductor, a post he was to retain for
13 years. He made considerable improvements and established it as a world-class
orchestra. His resignation in 1933 was acrimonious. Thereafter, Harty worked with London-based
orchestras giving concerts at home and abroad and making a number of
recordings.

Hamilton
Harty had a wide range of musical interests: he is noted as an enthusiast of Berlioz
and championed a number of modern (albeit musically conservative) British and
American composers. As a composer, Harty
has a fair-sized catalogue of music. His ‘best-loved’ work is In Ireland –a tone poem arranged for
orchestra or chamber ensemble. His Piano Concerto is a considerable achievement
that unites the style of Rachmaninoff with an Irish temperament. Harty’s
arrangements of Handel’s Water and Firework Music are attractive and satisfying
if not particularly scholarly. Sir
Hamilton Harty died from cancer on 19 February 1941.

Hamilton Harty
Musical Polymath
is one of The Boydell Press’ ‘Music in Britain, 1600-2000’ series which is a developing
collection of books addressing a variety of musical people, events and movements. Recent volumes include monographs on William
Lawes, the appreciation of Thomas Tallis in the nineteenth- century and the
present author’s study of Sir John Stainer.

The
basic format of the present book is a chronological survey of the Hamilton
Harty’s life and works. This begins with his early life in Ireland and follows
his career in London as an accompanist and then a composer. Two important
chapters deal with Harty and the Hallé, which in many ways is the core of this
book. Finally, his work with the London Symphony Orchestra, the tours to
America and Australia and the late masterpiece The Children of Lir are addressed.

Primarily,
this is a scholarly book that leads the reader beyond any superficial
assessment of Harty’s achievement. Multiple trajectories of interest are
implied by the sub-title of the book- Musical
Polymath. Scholars, historians and general readers interested in British
musical history will find much fascinating source material and helpful insights
into a wide variety of topics. This includes an examination of Harty as
accompanist, conductor, occasional controversialist, lover and composer.
Important assessments are made of the influence of Irish culture on Harty’s
work. Glancing at the index reveals that he knew virtually everyone in the
early 20th century musical world. Many of these relationships are
explored in detail. An examination is made of Hamilton Harty’s musical
aesthetic, which struggled with modernist music but was open to other
developments such as George Gershwin and his ‘American in Paris.’

From
my own point of view, the critical examination of most of Harty’s compositions
was my first port of call. This makes for a challenging assessment that is
complimentary to the essays collected by Greer (1979).

One
of the most poignant stories is that of the composer’s ill-fated ship-board
romance with Lorie Irving Bolland. From Harty’s point of view, she was his
‘ideal’ woman however as both were married the affair was fated to come to
naught. In fact, she was the only woman
that he truly loved.

It
is interesting to compare Dibble’s interpretation of Harty’s friendship with
Olive Baguley. Michael Kennedy, in his book on the Hallé Orchestra (Manchester
University Press 1982, p.17) notes Harty’s interest in administrative matters
of the orchestra after the ‘installation of his mistress [my italics]...as secretary of the Society.’ This is an interpretation
that Dibble challenges and points out that this view ‘caused outrage’ from Harty’s
friends including Archie Camden, Maurice Johnstone and Olive Baguley herself. There
is also a tantalising glimpse of a possible affair with the singer Elsie
Swinton which was to end with her largely giving up her career.

When
reviewing any book, I first turn to the appendices and the index. The ‘list of
works’ is a striking part of this volume.
Dibble has sorted the works by genre and then chronologically. I take as
an example the delightful ‘A Comedy Overture’ composed in 1901. The work is given its German title, the opus
number and key. The date of completion and, usefully, subsequent revision dates
are given. From the point of view of the ‘reception history’ the date, venue
and performers of the premiere is always helpful. The location of the manuscript along with the
publishers closes the entry. One detail omitted here, which is included in
Greer (1979), is the instrumentation of the work.

I
never realised quite how much chamber music Harty composed. Although there has
been a recent release of the first and second String Quartets (there was also
an early quartet written in 1898) and the admirable Piano Quintet, there are still
plenty of opportunities for adventurous trios or duos to ‘take up’ some of this
music. Almost completely lacking from CDs
are any of Harty’s 39 songs and song cycles. Even the once ubiquitous ‘Sea
Wrack’ seems to be unavailable. The
songs are listed here chronologically, and include the poet/author of the text
set. It is interesting to note that the vast majority of these songs were
composed between 1900 and the outbreak of the Great War. Only a few settings of
Irish poets and folksongs were composed in later years. Included in the list of
works are Harty’s ‘Articles, Broadcasts Lectures and other writing.’

I
would have liked a detailed chronology of the composer, his life, times and compositions
which would have been helpful in dovetailing the various facets of Harty’s
career together.

The
‘Discography’ is a vital part of this book. The reader needs to be aware that
this is listing of recordings made by Sir Hamilton Harty over his career and
does not include subsequent recordings made of his music. The author
acknowledges previous research by Cyril Ehrlich (Greer, 1978) C. Niss in ‘Le
Grand Baton’ and John Hunt in his More
Musical Knights (1997, 2009) The discography is conveniently divided into
two major sections – Harty as conductor and as pianist. The listings are by
composer and include dates (where known), work and catalogue numbers. Interesting entries include Bax’s Overture to a Picaresque Comedy, the
unissued Parry’s Blessed Pair of Sirens
and William Walton’s First Symphony. I was surprised at how few of his own
works the composer recorded – the inevitable ‘Londonderry Air’, ‘The Fair Day’
from the Symphony and ‘With the Wild Geese’.
Much of Harty’s contribution as a pianist is as accompanist to a small
number of soloists including Agnes Nicholls and the cellist, W.H. Squire. For a
charming example of this former partnership listen to Horatio Parker’s ‘The lark
now leaves his watery nest’ on YouTube.

Bearing
in mind the lack of studies of Hamilton Harty’s music, Jeremy Dibble has
created an impressive bibliography. This encompasses books, articles and
theses. It is interesting to note the considerable number of entries of the
pioneer Harty scholar David Greer. The listings include radio broadcasts about
the composer and also a helpful note on where the many concert programmes are
located.

The
index is divided into two sections – Harty’s works and a general index. This is
detailed, essential and runs to some thirty pages of close- written text.

This
well-bound, hardback book is printed in reasonable-sized font on quality
paper. Included in the text are 21
musical examples which are clearly produced and generally form a helpful
addition to the argument. Orchestral extracts are given in ‘short score’
however the chamber music examples are printed in full. There are seventeen black and white
photographs presented between pages 112 and 113: these include rare examples of
Harty conducting the orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl and a performance of Elijah at Sydney Town Hall in 1934. I
have not seen any of these before. There are three important text figures
giving facsimiles of various Harty scores including the masterpiece, With the Wild Geese. Most of the
illustrations are from the Harty Collection at Queen’s University, Belfast.

Copious
footnotes provide a wealth of important detail including expansions of the text
and citations and references. For example, Chapter 2 has some 136 footnotes. As
I always read these notes, I am pleased that Jeremy Dibble has chosen this
format rather than end-notes as I would not have enjoyed flicking back and
forward between chapters or the end of the book.

Hamilton Harty
Musical Polymath
is priced at £45.00 which some readers may regard as expensive. However, for
textbooks and monographs this is actually quite reasonable. The amount of
effort put into the research of this book is clearly massive: the synthesis of
this material is masterly and the presentation is ideal.

The
secret of this book’s success is in the subtitle: Hamilton Harty Musical Polymath. It is indispensable reading for anyone who is
interested in his compositions, the influence that Harty had on orchestral
playing and administration, especially with the Hallé, his enthusiasm for
Mozart, his championship of Berlioz, Sibelius and Gershwin and his achievement
as an instrumentalist and communicator. But the most important feature of this
book is the exploration of Harty’s relationship with contemporary musicians.

Jeremy
Dibble presents strong and coherent arguments to ensure Sir Hamilton Harty his
place in the Valhalla of British conductors such as Thomas Beecham, Henry Wood
and Malcolm Sargent. It convincingly
proves that Harty was a fine, if not great, composer and most important of all,
he was an individual subject to the temptations, the prejudices and the failings
of all mankind, but who transcended these to become one the great figures in
British music.

About Me

I am well over fifty years old: the end of the run of baby boomers! I was born in Glasgow, moving south to York in the late ‘seventies. I now work in London.
My main interest is British Music from the nineteenth century onwards.
I love the ‘arch-typical’ English countryside – and have always wanted to ‘Go West, Boy’.
A. E. Housman and the ‘Georgian’ poets are a huge influence on my aesthetic. I have spent much of my life looking for the ‘Land of Lost Content’ and only occasionally glimpsed it…somewhere in…???
My recently published work includes essays on Ivor Gurney’s song ‘On Wenlock Edge’ for the Gurney Society Journal, The Music of Marion Scott and a study of Janet Hamilton’s songs for the British Music Society Journal, and the composer Muriel Herbert for the Housman Society.
I have contributed to the journals of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, the Finzi Society, and the Bliss Society, the Berkeley Society, the BMS Newsletter and regular CD reviews for MusicWeb International.